JUNIOR A. HARRIS, APPELLANT,
v.
HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR NAAC MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-1, APPELLEE
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The borrower appealed a foreclosure judgment, arguing the bank lacked standing to bring the action. The court agreed, finding the bank failed to prove it owned the note when the lawsuit was filed because the note's endorsement was undated, the assignment was backdated after the complaint was filed, and the bank's witness could not testify to when the assignment actually occurred.
No. The bank failed to prove standing because: (1) the endorsement to the bank was undated; (2) the assignment was backdated after the action was filed, making retroactive effectiveness improper; and (3) the bank's witness could not testify to when the assignment actually occurred based on any information other than the document itself.
[1] A bank must prove it had standing when it filed a foreclosure action.
[2] An undated endorsement on a promissory note does not establish standing to bring a foreclosure action.
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Establishes the court's core holding that the bank lacked standing to bring the foreclosure action.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe bank filed a foreclosure complaint against the borrower. The original complaint attached a note payable to another entity without an endorsement. …
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The borrower appeals from a final judgment of foreclosure entered for the bank after a trial. The borrower argues that the bank failed to prove it had standing when it filed the action. We agree and reverse for entry of judgment for the borrower.
*601The bank’s original complaint attached a copy of a note payable to another entity. The note did not contain an endorsement.
The bank later filed a second amended complaint. Attached were copies of the note and an assignment of the note. The note now contained an endorsement to the bank. However, the endorsement-was undated. The assignment purported to transfer the note to the bank on an “effective” date before the bank filed its original complaint. However, the assignment was executed after the bank filed its original complaint.
The borrower answered and raised lack of standing as an affirmative defense. The borrower arguéd that the endorsement . was undated and the assignment was executed after the bank filed its original complaint.
At trial, the bank introduced into evidence the original note and the assignment. On the factual issue of whether the note was assigned to the bank before or after the bank filed the original complaint, the bank’s witness possessed no knowledge or information other than what the assignment’s face reflected.
After the close of all evidence, the trial court entered a final judgment of foreclosure for the bank.
This appeal followed. Our review is de novo. See Lloyd v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 160 So.3d 513, 514 (Fla. 4th DCA, 2015) (“We review the sufficiency of the evidence to prove standing to bring a foreclosure action de novo.”) (citation omitted).
We agree with the borrower that the bank failed to prove it had standing when it filed the action. We reach this conclusion for three reasons.
First, the note’s endorsement to the bank was undated. See Matthews v. Fed. Nat’l Mortg. Ass’n, 160 So.3d 131, 133 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (“[T]he note introduced at trial ... did not establish standing when the suit was commenced. The blank endorsement was undated.”).
Second, the assignment was “backdated” after the bank filed the action. See id. (“Nor does the backdated assignment, standing alone, establish standing.”) (citation omitted); Vidal v. Liquidation Props., Inc., 104 So.3d 1274, 1277 n. 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (“Allowing assignments to be retroactively effective would be inimical to the requirements of pre-suit ownership for standing in foreclosure cases.”).
Third, on the factual issue of whether the note was assigned to the bank béfore or after the bank filed the original complaint, the bank’s witness possessed no knowledge or information other than what the assignment’s face reflected. " See Lloyd, 160 So.3d at 515 (“Plaintiffs evidence supporting its claim that the assignment ... ‘related back’ to before the suit commenced was also insufficient to prove standing in this case. The witness testified that he did not have any information, other than the document itself, to verify when the assignment took place.”).
Based on the foregoing, we reverse and remand for entry of judgment for the borrower.
Reversed and remanded.
GROSS and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Vidal v. Liquidation Props., Inc., 104 So. 3d 1274 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)
- Lloyd v. The Bank OF NEW York Mellon, 160 So. 3d 513 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
- Matthews v. Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n, 160 So. 3d 131 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)